Game In 1: Game 77, Leafs 0 vs. Hurricanes 3

1. I love the Leafs, I’ll probably never stop loving the Leafs. That said, for me to believe in a group of players, they have to show up. This group of players had a lot of chances to show up, they didn’t. As a fan, I can deal with almost anything – just don’t play without heart. Leafs Nation doesn’t deserve you playing without heart. I love the Leafs, and believe in the Leafs rebuild, but I don’tÂ believeÂ in this particular group. We’re a young team, a developing team, but there are issues beyond that. Changes inÂ personnelÂ need to be made.

We have pieces but if those pieces have no one to learn from, no one to show them how to consistently perform in this league, you can’t fault them for failing. Injuries aside, everything is pretty clear. Leafs being a bubble team, not a good enough team to make this year’s playoffs, isn’t news.

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A rebuild is indeed in progress, the team still needs to grow. That said, as a fan as well as a person, I have never accepted giving up and sadly, that is exactly what this group of players did. I certainly hope the pick is worth the pride. Romanticized as it might sound, sports aren’t about losing to be better in the future (which is what the pick should mean, I’m well aware of that) – I will never accept that. If it’s a good pick, I’ll make my peace with it, but I’ll never accept it.

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Hi there, I'm Mislav, a hockey writer from Croatia. My weird hockey journey includes the Maple Leafs Hot Stove, covering the Kontinental Hockey League as a Managing Editor at KHL.hr and doing a piece for the Hockey News that one time. This is me on hockey and stuff in between. Enjoy your stay!